The coyote is ecologically the North American equivalent of the Eurasian
golden jackal.
[107] Likewise, the coyote is highly versatile in its choice of food, but is primarily
carnivorous, with 90% of its diet consisting of meat. Prey species include
bison (largely as
carrion),
white-tailed deer,
mule deer,
moose,
elk,
bighorn sheep,
pronghorn,
rabbits,
hares,
rodents,
birds (especially
galliformes, young
water birds and
pigeons and doves),
amphibians (except
toads),
lizards,
snakes,
turtles and
tortoises,
fish,
crustaceans, and
insects. Coyotes may be picky over the prey they target, as animals such as
shrews,
moles, and
brown rats do not occur in their diet in proportion to their numbers.
[22] However,
terrestrial and/or burrowing small mammals such as
ground squirrels and associated species (
marmots,
prairie dogs,
chipmunks) as well as
voles,
pocket gophers,
kangaroo rats and other ground-favoring rodents may be quite common foods, especially for lone coyotes.
[108][109][110] More unusual prey include
fishers,
[111] young
black bear cubs,
[112] harp seals[113] and
rattlesnakes. Coyotes kill rattlesnakes mostly for food (but also to protect their pups at their dens) by teasing the snakes until they stretch out and then biting their heads and snapping and shaking the snakes.
[114] Birds taken by coyotes may range in size from
thrashers,
larks and
sparrows to adult
wild turkeys and, rarely, brooding adult
swans and
pelicans.
[115][116][117][118] If working in packs or pairs, coyotes may have access to larger prey than lone individuals normally take, such as various prey weighing more than 10 kg (22 lb).
[119][120] In some cases, packs of coyotes have dispatched much larger prey such as adult
Odocoileus deer, cow
elk,
pronghorns and
wild sheep, although the young fawn, calves and lambs of these animals are considerably more often taken even by packs, as well as
domestic sheep and
domestic cattle. In some cases, coyotes can bring down prey weighing up to 100 to 200 kg (220 to 440 lb) or more. When it comes to adult ungulates such as wild deer, they often exploit them when vulnerable such as those that are infirm, stuck in snow or ice, otherwise winter-weakened or heavily pregnant, whereas less wary domestic ungulates may be more easily exploited.
[119][121][122][123][124][125][126]
Although coyotes prefer fresh meat, they will
scavenge when the opportunity presents itself. Excluding the insects, fruit, and grass eaten, the coyote requires an estimated 600 g (1.3 lb) of food daily, or 250 kg (550 lb) annually.
[22] The coyote readily
cannibalizes the carcasses of
conspecifics, with coyote fat having been successfully used by coyote hunters as a lure or poisoned bait.
[7] The coyote's winter diet consists mainly of large ungulate carcasses, with very little plant matter. Rodent prey increases in importance during the spring, summer, and fall.
[5]
The coyote feeds on a variety of different
produce, including
blackberries,
blueberries,
peaches,
pears,
apples,
prickly pears,
chapotes,
persimmons,
peanuts,
watermelons,
cantaloupes, and
carrots. During the winter and early spring, the coyote eats large quantities of grass, such as green
wheat blades. It sometimes eats unusual items such as
cotton cake,
soybean meal, domestic animal droppings,
beans, and cultivated
grain such as
maize, wheat, and
sorghum.
[22]
In coastal California, coyotes now consume a higher percentage of marine-based food than their ancestors, which is thought to be due to the extirpation of the grizzly bear from this region.
[127] In
Death Valley, coyotes may consume great quantities of
hawkmoth caterpillars or
beetles in the spring flowering months.
[128]
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